Information processing apparatus, control method, and program

ABSTRACT

There is provided an information processing apparatus including circuitry configured to initiate display of a virtual object, based on a gesture operation, starting from a point of origin and moving towards a target point; and continue to display the virtual object in display motion after the gesture operation, wherein a path of travel of the virtual object or a display characteristic of the virtual object is determined based on a positional relationship between the virtual object and another object that is a real object located in proximity to the path of travel of the virtual object.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Stage Patent Application of PCTInternational Patent Application PCT/JP2015/004276 filed Aug. 25, 2015under 35 U.S.C. § 371, which claims the benefit of Japanese PriorityPatent Application JP 2014-177929 filed Sep. 2, 2014, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, acontrol method, and a program.

BACKGROUND ART

Devices for displaying various types of information by an operation on atouch panel provided in a smartphone, tablet terminal, and other devicesare widely used. The tablet terminal with a large screen enables a wayto achieve simultaneous operation by multiple users to be considered.

An operation on a touch panel is performed using a touch pen, a person'sfinger, or other object. Specifically, a touch pen or the like may beused to move or tap an icon displayed on a screen by touching thescreen. An example of a way to perform operations on a touch panel isdisclosed in PTL 1. PTL 1 discloses a technique for detecting the movingdirection and speed of an icon operated by a touch pen or the like, andfor shifting the icon further by a predetermined distance in the movingdirection when a moving speed at the time of removing the touch pen orthe like from the icon is greater than or equal to a predeterminedspeed.

A display device with a large screen, which is designed for allowingmultiple users to perform simultaneous operations or viewing, includes aprojector or a wall-mounted display. In recent years, a display system,which makes possible for multiple user to perform simultaneousoperations or viewing by projecting an image onto a projection surfaceother than a screen, such as a tabletop, a ceiling, and a wall, has beenwidely used. Such a display system may detect an operation on displayedinformation (hereinafter referred to as “virtual object”) using animaging device or a touch panel, and may control display thereofdepending on an operation input.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[PTL 1]

JP H06-044001A

SUMMARY Technical Problem

Unlike normal display screens, real objects such as cups and dishes areassumed to be placed on the tabletop, but the display control dependingon the circumstances in which the real objects are placed has not beenaddressed in the related art.

The present disclosure provides an information processing apparatus,control method, and program, capable of displaying information in a moreappropriate and efficient by controlling movement of a displayed virtualobject depending on a positional relationship between the virtual objectand a real object.

Solution to Problem

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is proposedan information processing apparatus including circuitry configured toinitiate display of a virtual object, based on a gesture operation,starting from a point of origin and moving towards a target point; andcontinue to display the virtual object in display motion after thegesture operation, wherein a path of travel of the virtual object or adisplay characteristic of the virtual object is determined based on apositional relationship between the virtual object and another objectthat is a real object located in proximity to the path of travel of thevirtual object.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is proposedan information processing method including displaying a virtual object,based on a gesture operation, starting from a point of origin and movingtowards a target point; and continuing to display the virtual object indisplay motion after the gesture operation, wherein a path of travel ofthe virtual object or a display characteristic of the virtual object isdetermined based on a positional relationship between the virtual objectand another object that is a real object located in proximity to thepath of travel of the virtual object.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is proposeda non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon aprogram, which when executed by a computer causes the computer toexecute an information processing method, the method includingdisplaying a virtual object, based on a gesture operation, starting froma point of origin and moving towards a target point; and continuing todisplay the virtual object in display motion after the gestureoperation, wherein a path of travel of the virtual object or a displaycharacteristic of the virtual object is determined based on a positionalrelationship between the virtual object and another object that is areal object located in proximity to the path of travel of the virtualobject.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure describedabove, it is possible to display information in a more appropriate andefficient by controlling the movement of a displayed virtual objectdepending on a positional relationship between the virtual object and areal object.

Note that the effects described above are not necessarily limited, andalong with or instead of the effects, any effect that is desired to beintroduced in the present specification or other effects that can beexpected from the present specification may be exhibited.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrated to describe an exemplary configurationof an information processing system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrated to describe another exemplaryconfiguration of the information processing system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrated to describe another exemplaryconfiguration of the information processing system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of content to be displayed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of transferring anddisplaying a content item from a smartphone.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of transferring anddisplaying a content item from a smartphone.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of transferring anddisplaying a content item from a smartphone.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of operating a transferredcontent item.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of operating the movement ofa transferred content item.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of operating the movementof a transferred content item.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of operating the movementof a transferred content item.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of operating a transferredcontent item.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrated to describe an exemplary configurationof an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a display control process performedby the information processing system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrated to describe a first start condition ofthe information processing system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrated to describe a second start condition ofthe information processing system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrated to describe how to acquire a firstslide route according to an embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrated to describe how to acquire a secondslide route according to an embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrated to describe how to search a route thatcircumvents an object in acquiring a second slide route according to anembodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrated to describe how to search a route thatcircumvents an object in acquiring a second slide route according to anembodiment.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrated to describe how to search a route thatcircumvents an object in acquiring a second slide route according to anembodiment.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrated to describe how to search a route thatcircumvents an object in acquiring a second slide route according to anembodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrated to describe how to acquire a firstslide speed according to an embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrated to describe how to acquire a firstslide speed according to an embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrated to describe advantageous effectsobtained by the slide speed control depending on the capacity of contentaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrated to describe a first object proximityoperation according to an embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrated to describe a second object proximityoperation according to an embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrated to describe a third object proximityoperation according to an embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrated to describe a fourth object proximityoperation according to an embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrated to describe a first terminationcondition according to an embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrated to describe a second terminationcondition according to an embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrated to describe a first termination processaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrated to describe another example of thefirst termination process according to an embodiment.

FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrated to describe a second terminationprocess according to an embodiment.

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrated to describe another example of thesecond termination process according to an embodiment.

FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrated to describe a third termination processaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 37 is a diagram illustrated to describe another example of thethird termination process according to an embodiment.

FIG. 38 is a diagram illustrated to describe how to disable the eventfor a content item during sliding.

FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrated to describe how to disable the eventfor a content item during sliding.

FIG. 40 is a diagram illustrated to describe a supplement to datatransfer of the information processing system according to anembodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described indetail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that, in thisspecification and the appended drawings, structural elements that havesubstantially the same function and structure are denoted with the samereference numerals, and repeated explanation of these structuralelements is omitted.

The description is made in the following order.

-   1. Overview of Information Processing System according to Embodiment    of present Disclosure-   2. Basic Configuration-   3. Operation Process-   3-1. Start Condition-   3-2. Slide Route and Slide Speed-   3-3. Object Proximity Operation-   3-4. Termination Condition-   3-5. Termination Process-   4. Supplement-   5. Conclusion    «1. Overview Of Information Processing System According to    Embodiment of Present Disclosure»

An exemplary configuration of an information processing system accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described withreference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrated to describean exemplary configuration of an information processing system accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. An exemplary configurationof an information processing system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure is configured to include aninformation processing apparatus 100 a having an input function and anoutput function. In an example shown in FIG. 1, the informationprocessing apparatus 100 a displays information on the top surface 141 a(tabletop) of a table 140 a and allows the user to operate theinformation displayed on the top surface 141 a. A system of displayinginformation on the top surface 141 a of the table 140 a as shown in FIG.1 is also referred to as “projection type” hereinafter.

The information processing apparatus 100 a is provided over the table140 a, for example, in a suspended state from a ceiling. In other words,the information processing apparatus 100 a is spaced apart from thetable 140 a on which information is displayed.

The information processing apparatus 100 a has an input function (inputunit 110 a) for inputting particulars of an operation by the user oninformation displayed on the top surface 141 a (tabletop), the shape ofan object being placed on the table 140 a, or other details. Examples ofthe input unit 110 a of the information processing apparatus 100 ainclude a camera for capturing the table 140 a with one lens, a stereocamera capable of capturing the table 140 a with two lenses andrecording its depth directional information, or a microphone for pickingup sound form the user's mouth and its surrounding environmental sound(simply referred to as “microphone”).

When the camera for capturing the table 140 a with one lens is used asthe input unit 110 a, the information processing apparatus 100 a isallowed to analyze an image captured using the camera to detect anobject placed on the table 140 a. When the stereo camera is used as theinput unit 110 a, the stereo camera may include a visible light cameraand an infrared camera. When the stereo camera is used, the informationprocessing apparatus 100 a is allowed to acquire depth information. Theacquired depth information allows the information processing apparatus100 a to detect a person's finger or an object placed on the table 140 aby distinguishing it from a pattern of the top surface or a tablecloth.The acquired depth information also allows the information processingapparatus 100 a to detect a user's hand being in contact with or inproximity to the top surface 141 a of the table 140 a or to detect theremoval of the hand from the top surface 141 a. In the followingdescription, a contact of an operation body of the user such as fingerwith a surface on which information is displayed (here, the top surface141 a) or a proximity of the operating body, such as hand, to thesurface is collectively referred to as “contact”.

When a microphone is used as the input unit 110 a, a microphone arraymay be used to pick up sound in a particular direction. The informationprocessing apparatus 100 a may adjust the sound pickup direction of themicrophone array in any optional direction.

Although the following description is mainly focused on the case inwhich the operation performed by the user is detected from an imagecaptured by the input unit 110 a, the present disclosure is not limitedto such an example. The operation performed by the user may be detectedusing a touch panel that is provided on the top surface 141 a of thetable 140 a and is used to detect a contact with the user's finger orthe like. The user's operation may include an operation using a styluson a surface on which information is displayed and a gesture operationto the camera, in addition to that described above.

The information processing apparatus 100 a has an output function(output unit 130 a) for displaying information on the top surface 141 a(tabletop) of the table 140 a or outputting sound. Examples of theoutput unit 130 a include a projector and a loudspeaker.

When a projector is used as the output unit 130 a, the output unit 130 aprojects information onto the top surface 141 a of the table 140 a. Whena loudspeaker is used as the output unit 130 a, the output unit 130 aoutputs sound based on a sound signal. One or more loudspeakers may beprovided. When a plurality of loudspeakers are used as the output unit130 a, the information processing apparatus 100 a is allowed to definewhich loudspeaker is used to output sound or adjust the sound outputdirection.

When the information processing apparatus 100 a is the projection typeas shown in FIG. 1, the output unit 130 a may be provided with lightingequipment. When the lighting equipment is used, the informationprocessing apparatus 100 a is allowed to control on/off state of thelighting equipment based on the contents of information inputted by theinput unit 110.

The user who uses the information processing system as shown in FIG. 1is allowed to perform an operation on the information displayed on thetop surface 141 a of the table 140 a by means of the output function(output unit 130 a) of the information processing apparatus 100 a, withthe user's finger placed on the top surface 141 a.

The information processing apparatus 100 a is allowed to be connected toother devices, which is not shown in FIG. 1. As an example, theinformation processing apparatus 100 a is allowed to be connected to amobile device carried by the user, such as a smartphone and a tabletterminal, directly by a wireless connection, or through a server or thelike over a network.

The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment of theinformation processing system shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 2 and 3 arediagrams illustrated to describe another example of the informationprocessing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrated to describe another exemplaryconfiguration of the information processing system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 2, an informationprocessing apparatus 100 b may project and display information fromunder a table 140 b onto a top surface 141 b of the table 140 b. In theexample shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus 100 bincludes an output unit 130 b that is implemented as a projector. In theinformation processing system shown in FIG. 2, the top surface 141 b ofthe table 140 b, which is used as a surface on which information isdisplayed, is formed of a transparent material such as glass plate andtransparent plastic plate. A system of projecting information from underthe table 140 b and displaying information on the top surface 141 b asshown in FIG. 2 is also referred to as “rear projection type”hereinafter. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the table 140 b may includean input unit 110 b provided on the top surface 141 b. The input unit110 b is implemented by a touch panel and detects the user's operationon information displayed on the top surface 141 b. The input unit 110 bis not limited to the configuration in which it is provided on the topsurface 141 b. As an example, when the input unit 110 b is implementedas a camera, the input unit 110 b may be spaced apart from the table 140b under the table 140 b, and the input unit 110 b may be incorporatedinto the information processing apparatus 100 b.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrated to describe another exemplaryconfiguration of the information processing system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 illustrates an informationprocessing apparatus 100 c that is implemented by a touch panel displayand is placed on a top surface 141 c of a table 140 c. In such a touchpanel display, an input unit II Oc and an output unit 130 c may beincorporated into the touch panel display. In other words, in theinformation processing system shown in FIG. 3, a surface on whichinformation is displayed is the touch panel display. A system ofdisplaying information using the touch panel display placed on the topsurface 141 c as shown in FIG. 3 is also referred to as “flatarrangement display type”. The information processing system shown inFIG. 3 includes a camera provided over the touch panel display fordetecting the user's position.

The following description is made of the information processingapparatus 100 a provided with the input unit 110 a and the output unit130 a over the table 140 a, that is, the configuration in which theinput unit 110 a and the output unit 130 a are spaced apart from thesurface on which information is displayed as shown in FIG. 1. In thefollowing description, the information processing apparatus 100 a, theinput unit 110 a, the output unit 130 a, the table 140 a, and the topsurface 141 a are respectively simply called as information processingapparatus 100, the input unit 110, the output unit 130, the table 140,and the top surface 141.

(Exemplary Display of Content)

An example of information displayed on the top surface 141 of the table140 by the output unit 130 of the information processing apparatus 100will be described.

The information processing apparatus 100 displays various types ofinformation on the top surface 141 of the table 140 depending on theuser's operation. Information to be displayed is acquired from a localstorage of the information processing apparatus 100 or an externalstorage of an external device (smartphones, tablet terminals, servers,etc.). FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of content to bedisplayed. As shown in FIG. 4, various types of information capable ofbeing operated by multiple users are displayed on the top surface 141.In the example shown in FIG. 4, a music video application window 20, alauncher view 22, a music application window 23 are displayed inproximity to the corresponding individual users. The launcher view 22 isdisplayed depending on a contact operation with an icon 21. When theuser taps a desired icon on the launcher view 22 or drags out of thelauncher view 22, an application corresponding to the selected icon isexpanded and it is displayed like the application windows 20 and 23.Information outputted and displayed by the information processingapparatus 100 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 4. TheInformation including, but not limited to, web browser, timerapplication, note application, calculator application, calendarapplication, media files (e.g., moving image file, music file,photograph file), and image data may be displayed.

Although the example shown in FIG. 4 describes the case in which an iconto be used is selected from the launcher view 22 and then the selectedicon is expanded and displayed on the table, the present disclosure isnot limited thereto. As an example, content transferred from theinformation processing apparatus placed on the table may be expanded anddisplayed on the table. A basic example of controlling display ofcontent by the information processing system according to an embodimentof the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to12. FIGS. 5 to 7 are diagrams illustrating an example of transferringand displaying content from a smartphone. FIG. 8 is a diagramillustrating an example of operating the transferred content. FIG. 9 isa diagram illustrating an example of operating the movement of thetransferred content. FIGS. 10 and 11 are diagrams illustrating anexample of controlling the movement of the transferred content. FIG. 12is a diagram illustrating an example of operating the transferredcontent.

As shown in FIG. 5, the user places a smartphone 1 in a predeterminedregion S1 on the top surface 141 of the table 140. In this case, byfixing the position of the region S1, the information processingapparatus 100 placed over the top surface 141 can eliminate thenecessity to recognize the smartphone 1. The information processingapparatus 100 fixes the position of the region S1 corresponding to eachseat at the table 140 without displaying the region S1 on the topsurface 141, and thus the users only place their smartphones 1 on thetop surface 141 in front of their respective seats. The informationprocessing apparatus 100 may display the region S1 on the top surface141 to prompt the user to place the information processing apparatussuch as the smartphone 1 in the region S1 by means of displaying orsound output.

Then, the user taps a region S2 as shown in FIG. 6. In this time, theinformation processing apparatus 100 may allow the user to tap a regionnear the smartphone 1 without displaying the region S2 on the topsurface 141. Alternatively, the information processing apparatus 100 maydisplay the region S2 on the top surface 141 to prompt the user to tapthe region S1 by means of displaying or sound output.

The information processing apparatus 100, when recognizing that theregion S2 is tapped, is connected to the smartphone 1 placed on theregion S1. The information processing apparatus 100 then extracts(receives) content from a local storage of the smartphone 1 and projectsthe content on the top surface 141 for display. In this time, theinformation processing apparatus 100 controls display of content in sucha way that content is popped out from the smartphone 1 into the topsurface 141 as shown in FIG. 7. A range to be projected (display region)onto the top surface 141 may be set as a range shown by a region S3, asan example.

An example of the content to be extracted includes a plurality ofphotograph content items captured/browsed in close proximity and aplurality of music content items acquired/viewed in close proximity. Theinformation processing apparatus 100 controls a plurality of photographcontent items of the extracted content items to be displayed on the leftside of the smartphone 1 when viewed from the user and controls aplurality of music content items (jacket photograph image) to bedisplayed on the left side. The information processing apparatus 100displays a plurality of content items to be overlapped with each otherin such a way that at least a portion of the image may be visible asshown in FIG. 7.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 12, the user is allowed to operate each of thecontent items displayed on the top surface 141 with the user's finger orthe like in contact with the top surface 141. For example, as shown inFIG. 8, when a music content item 25 is selected by tapping on it, theselected music content item 25 is reproduced. Specifically, theinformation processing apparatus 100 recognizes a tap operation on themusic content item 25 with the finger or the like and controls theselected music content item 25 to be outputted from a loudspeaker(including a loudspeaker provided in the information processingapparatus 100, a loudspeaker provided on the table 140, and aloudspeaker provided in its vicinity). This makes it possible for theuser to reproduce the music being viewed while the user eats at thetable 140.

If there is a photograph content item that the user wants to show anopponent, the user can passes the photograph content item on to theopponent. For example, when there is a photograph content item 26 whicha user wants to show to an opposite user located at the position facingthe user across the table 140, the user drags the photograph contentitem 26 to the opposite user with the user's finger in contact with thephotograph content item 26, as shown in FIG. 9. In this state, the userperforms a flick operation on the photograph content item 26 to be slidto the opposite user by giving momentum to it.

In this case, the information processing apparatus 100 detects a movingdirection and a moving speed of the photograph content item 26 andcontrols display of the photograph content item 26 in such a way thatthe photograph content item 26 further slides in the moving direction bya predetermined distance depending on the moving speed (to allow anobject to be moved without another user operation after the previoususer operation, like an inertial movement). In this time, theinformation processing apparatus 100 basically moves the photographcontent item 26 in a straight line from the position at which the flickoperation is performed. When there is an obstacle on the straight lineindicated by the dashed arrow as shown in FIG. 10, the informationprocessing apparatus 100 moves it along a slide route that is a pathcircumventing the obstacle. As described above, in an embodiment, todisplay information on the top surface 141 of the table 140, in somecases, there is a real object, such as cups and dishes, placed on thetop surface 141. In this case, the information processing apparatus 100performs display control by sliding the photograph content item 26 tothe opposite user along a route that circumvents dishes 5 a and 5 b, asindicated by solid arrows in FIG. 10.

When moving the photograph content item 26 is moved depending on theuser's flick operation, the information processing apparatus 100 maychange the direction of the photograph content item 26 into thedirection that is easily viewed by the opposite user.

The opposite user can expand and browse the photograph content item 26by tapping on it as shown in FIG. 12. In other words, after thephotograph content item 26 stops its movement, the informationprocessing apparatus 100 recognizes the operation by the opposite useron the photograph content item 26. Then, when a tap operation isperformed, the information processing apparatus 100 controls thephotograph content item 26 to be displayed in an enlarged form.

It is recognized that the display is terminated like when both usersleave their seats carrying their smartphones 1, the informationprocessing apparatus 100 switches scenes by fading out the content onthe display surface (top surface 141).

«2. Basic Configuration»

An overview of the information processing system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure has been described above.Subsequently, the configuration of the information processing apparatus100 that constitutes the information processing system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference toFIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrated to describe an exemplaryconfiguration of the information processing apparatus 100 according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 13, the information processing apparatus 100 accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to include aninput unit 110, a controller 120, and an output unit 130.

The input unit 110 allows particulars of an operation on the informationprocessing apparatus 100 by the user who uses the information processingapparatus 100 or the shape or the like of an object placed on a surfaceto which the output unit 130 outputs information (e.g., the top surface141 a of the table 140 a shown in FIG. 1) to be inputted. An example ofparticulars of an operation on the information processing apparatus 100by the user who uses the information processing apparatus 100 includesparticulars of the operation on a GUI outputted on a display surface bythe information processing apparatus 100. The particulars of anoperation on the information processing apparatus 100 or information onthe shape or the like of an object, which are inputted to the input unit110, are sent to the controller 120.

When the information processing apparatus 100 is configured as aprojection type, the input unit 110 may be configured as a cameraincluding one lens, a stereo camera including two lenses, or amicrophone.

The controller 120 controls each component of the information processingapparatus 100. For example, the controller 120 generates informationthat is to be outputted from the output unit 130 using informationinputted to the input unit 110. As shown in FIG. 13, the controller 120is configured to include a detection unit 121 and an output control unit122. The detection unit 121 performs a process for detecting particularsof an operation on the information processing apparatus 100 by the userwho uses the information processing apparatus 100, contents ofinformation being outputted from the output unit 130, and the shape orthe like of an object placed on a surface to which the output unit 130outputs information (e.g., the top surface 141 a of the table 140 ashown in FIG. 1). The particulars detected by the detection unit 121 aresent to the output control unit 122. The output control unit 122performs control for generating information to be outputted from theoutput unit 130 based on the particulars detected by the detection unit121. More specifically, the output control unit 122 controls the movingspeed and/or moving route of a virtual object, in accordance with themoving speed and/or moving route of the virtual object obtained based onthe moving direction and/or moving speed of the user operation oninformation (virtual object) outputted from the output unit 130. Theinformation generated by the output control unit 122 is sent to theoutput unit 130.

For example, when the information processing apparatus 100 is configuredas a projection type shown in FIG. 1, a previous calibration forachieving matching between coordinates of a surface on which informationis displayed and coordinates where an operating body such as the user'shand is in contact with the display surface may be performed. As aresult, the detection unit 121 can detect which portion of the GUI is incontact with the operating body such as the user's hand. The outputcontrol unit 122 controls display of display information (virtualobject) depending on the user's operation on a virtual object displayedon the display surface. Specifically, when the display information ismoved by the flick operation, the output control unit 122 performsdisplay control of information to be displayed depending on a positionalrelationship with a real object located near the moving route of thedisplay information. The detailed display control will be described inmore detail at the heading «3. Operation Process» described later.

The controller 120 may be configured to include a central processingunit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), and a random access memory (RAM).When the controller 120 includes a CPU device or the like, such devicemay be composed of electronic circuits.

Although not shown in FIG. 13, the controller 120 may have acommunication function for performing a wireless communication withother devices and a function for controlling the operation of otherdevices connected to the information processing apparatus 100, such aslighting equipment.

The controller 120 is configured to include a storage unit for storingcontent control information (so-called content control informationdatabase). The content control information may be particulars ofinputted operation and information indicating what type of contentcontrol is performed on an object or the like placed on the table 140 a.The controller 120 performs display control depending on informationinputted from the input unit 110 by referring to the content controlinformation stored in the storage unit.

The output unit 130 outputs information depending on information aboutparticulars of the operation by the user who uses the informationprocessing apparatus 100, contents of information being outputted fromthe output unit 130, or the shape or the like of an object placed on asurface to which the output unit 130 outputs information (e.g., the topsurface 141 a of the table 140 a shown in FIG. 1), which are inputted bythe input unit 110. The output unit 130 outputs information based oninformation generated by the output control unit 122. An example of theinformation outputted from the output unit 130 includes informationdisplayed on the display surface, sound outputted from a loudspeaker(not shown), or the like.

The information processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 13 may beconfigured as a stand-alone device, or may be configured partially orentirely in a separate device. For example, among the exemplaryconfiguration of the information processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG.13, the controller 120 may be included in a device such as a server thatis connected to the input unit 110 and the output unit 130 over anetwork or the like. When the controller 120 is included in the devicesuch as a server, information from the input unit 110 is transmitted tothe device such as a server through the network or the like. Thecontroller 120 performs a process on the information from the input unit120. Information to be outputted from the output unit 130 is sent fromthe device such as a server to the output unit 130 through the networkor the like.

An exemplary configuration of the information processing apparatus 100according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been describedwith reference to FIG. 13. Subsequently, an information display exampleby the information processing apparatus 100 according to an embodimentof the present disclosure will be described.

«3. Operation Process»

The information processing system according to an embodiment isconfigured in such a way that multiple users may execute respectiveindependent applications on the same screen, for example, displayed onthe table 140 a, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 to 12. For example, a graphicaluser interface (GUI) of the applications shown in FIG. 4 is generated bythe output control unit 122 and is outputted from the output unit 130.

The information processing system acquires operation particulars by theuser on the GUI of the application outputted on an information displaysurface by the output unit 130 through the input unit 110. Theinformation processing system allows the user to be in contact with thedisplay surface with an operating body such as the user's hand or allowsthe operating body being in contact with the display surface to move onthe display surface. Thus, the information processing system receives anoperation on the GUI of the application outputted on the informationdisplay surface by the output unit 130.

An embodiment of the present disclosure particularly relates to anoperation for moving a position at which the GUI is displayed amongoperations on the GUI of applications. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, forexample, when information is displayed on the table 140 a, in somecases, a real object such as cups or dishes is placed on the top surface141 a of the table 140 a. Thus, the GUI may be moved by a predetermineddistance depending on the moving speed on the straight line in themoving direction depending on the flick operation by the user. In thiscase, if a projection type is used, the projected GUI is difficult toview because of being overlapped with a real object such as cups ordishes, or the GUI projected onto some food causes its appearance to beworse. When the GUI remains at a position being overlapped with a realobject, it is necessary to move the real object to operate the GUI,resulting in inconvenience. When the information processing apparatus100 is used as a rear projection type or a flat arrangement displaytype, if the GUI remains at a position hidden under a real object, theuser will lose sight of the GUI. Thus, according to an embodiment, whena position at which the displayed GUI (i.e. virtual object) is displayedis changed depending on the user's operation, the display control may beperformed in consideration of a real object placed on a display surface,thereby displaying information in a more suitable and efficient manner.

Such display control will be described in more detail with reference toFIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a display control processperformed by the information processing system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 14, in step S103, the controller 120 of the informationprocessing apparatus 100 acquires “content control information: startcondition”. In other words, the controller 120 acquires the operationparticulars on the content (specifically, GUI of application) performedby the user inputted from the input unit 110, refers to the contentcontrol information stored in a storage unit, and determines whether acondition of starting the movement display control (specifically, slideoperation) is satisfied.

<3-1. Start Condition>

A start condition according to an embodiment will be described withreference to FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrated todescribe a first start condition according to an embodiment. As shown inthe left part of FIG. 15, when a drag operation is performed to move acontent item 30 displayed on the top surface 141 that is the displaysurface in a state where the content item is in contact with anoperating body such as a finger, the movement display control accordingto an embodiment is not started. On the other hand, as shown in theright part of FIG. 15, when a flick operation is performed to move thecontent item 30 displayed on the top surface 141 that is the displaysurface with the content item being in contact with an operating bodysuch as a finger and to release the finger or the like from the contentitem by giving momentum, the controller 120 determines that the startcondition is satisfied, and then the movement display control accordingto an embodiment is started.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrated to describe a second start conditionaccording to an embodiment. As shown in the left part of FIG. 16, whenthe content item 30 is operated in a predetermined region S10 located infront of the user on the top surface 141, the movement display controlaccording to an embodiment is not started. On the other hand, as shownin the right part of FIG. 16, when the drag operation is performed onthe content item 30 outside the predetermined region S10, the controller120 determines that the start condition is satisfied, and then themovement display control according to an embodiment is started.

As described above, when the flick operation is performed on the contentitem 30 or when the content item 30 is moved outside the predeterminedregion S10, the controller 120 determines that the start condition ofmovement display control is satisfied. The start condition describedabove is merely an example, and the present disclosure is not limitedthereto.

Referring back to FIG. 14, in step S106, if the controller 120determines that the start condition is satisfied (YES in step S106),then in subsequent step S109, the controller 120 acquires “contentcontrol information: slide route and slide speed”. In other words, thecontroller 120 acquires (sets) the slide route and slide speed dependingon the moving direction of the flick operation by the user or the sizeof the content.

<3-2. Slide Route and Slide Speed>

The acquisition of the slide route and slide speed according to anembodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 to 25. FIG. 17is a diagram illustrated to describe how to acquire a first slide routeaccording to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, when there is noobstacle (real object) on the top surface 141, the controller 120 sets apoint where the user's finger is removed from the content item 30 by theflick operation as a start point S, and sets a point of a predetermineddistance D on the straight line in the moving direction of the flickoperation from the start point S as a termination point T. Then, thecontroller 120 acquires the shortest route (i.e. the straight line) fromthe start point S to the termination point T as a slide route. Thepredetermined distance D is calculated based on the moving speed of theflick operation and the virtual coefficient of friction with the topsurface 141. When there is no obstacle (real object) on the top surface141, the user views the content item 30, which moves from the startpoint S to the termination point T, without losing sight of it.

On the other hand, the description of how to acquire the slide routewhen there is an obstacle (real object) on the top surface 141 will bemade with reference to FIG. 18. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrated todescribe how to acquire a second slide route according to an embodiment.As shown in the left part of FIG. 18, when there is an obstacle to thedishes 5 a and 5 b on the top surface 141 and the shortest route (i.e.the straight line) from the start point S to the termination point Tintersects (collides) with the obstacle, the controller 120 acquires aroute that circumvents the obstacle as a slide route. In this case, thecontroller 120 recognizes in advance the position of an object dependingon the conditions of the object (size and position of the object) placedon the top surface 141, which is inputted from the input unit 110, andthus acquires a route that circumvents the object. The description ofhow to search a route that circumvents an object will be made later withreference to FIGS. 19 to 25.

The controller 120 may acquire a route in which the moving directionchanges as a slide route, as shown in the right part of FIG. 18. In theroute to be acquired as a slide route, the content item 30 is movedalong the shortest route to the termination point T (i.e. the straightline) and reflects the route to the dish Sb at the time when the contentitem 30 reaches the dishes 5 a as an obstacle. In this case, even whenthe controller 120 does not recognize in advance the position of a realobject or when a real object is placed on the route after the movementcontrol of the content item 30 by the flick operation is started, it ispossible to prevent a real object and the content item 30 to beoverlapped with each other.

As described above, by acquiring a route that circumvents an object or aroute reflected from an object, the content item 30 that moves away fromthe user's finger can be prevented from losing sight of the content item30. Subsequently, the description of how to search a route thatcircumvents an object will be made in more detail with reference toFIGS. 19 to 25.

FIGS. 19 to 25 are diagrams illustrated to describe how to search aroute that circumvents an object to acquire the second slide routeaccording to an embodiment. The controller 120 recognizes an objectplaced on the top surface 141 and determines object regions 50 a and 50b on which an object is placed, as shown in FIG. 19. When a camera ordepth sensor is used as the input unit 110, an object may be recognizedbased on a captured image and depth information that are inputted fromthe input unit 110. The controller 120 recognizes that the flickoperation is performed by the user's finger in contact with the contentitem 30 based on the operation particulars inputted from the input unit110. The controller 120 estimates the moving direction and thetermination point T from the vector at the time of the flick operationon the content item 30 as shown in the left part of FIG. 19.

The controller 120 sets control points C1 and C2 of thethree-dimensional Bezier curve on the shortest route between the startpoint S and the termination point T (straight line) as shown in theright part of FIG. 19. The controller 120 then determines whether theroute collides with the object region 50 a or 50 b. The determination asto whether there is a collision uses an ordinary algorithm and thus themethod for determination is not limited. For example, the controller 120performs intersection determination by calculating the outer product offour sides of the object region 50 a or 50 b and the straight line orcurved line.

In the example shown in FIG. 19, it is determined that the routerconnecting the start point S and the termination point T intersects withthe object region 50 a and collides with an object, and thus thecontroller 120 shifts the control points C1 and C2 from the initialposition as shown in the left part of FIG. 20 and again determineswhether there is a collision with an object. The route shown in the leftpart of FIG. 20 also collides with the object region 50 a, and thus thecontroller 120 shifts the control points C1 and C2 to another points andagain determines whether there is a collision with an object as shown inthe right part of FIG. 20. In this way, the controller 120 repeatedlyperforms the collision determination and adjustment on the controlpoints C1 and C2, and then searches a route that does not collide withthe object regions 50 a and 50 b.

As shown in the left part of FIG. 21, if a route that does not collidewith object regions 50 a and 50 b is found, then the controller 120acquires the found route as a slide route and slides the content item 30along a curve as shown in the right part of FIG. 21.

If object regions 50 a, 50 b, and 50 c are placed as shown in FIG. 22, aroute that does not collide with the object regions 50 a, 50 b, and 50 cis failed to be found. Thus, the controller 120 may exceptionallyacquire the shortest route to the termination point T (straight line) asa slide route, as shown in the left part of FIG. 22. In this case, thecontroller 120 slides the content item 30 from the start point S towardthe termination point T along the straight line as shown in the rightpart of FIG. 22. When the projection type information processingapparatus 100 is used as shown in FIG. 1, the content item 30 passingthrough the object region 50 a is projected onto an object. Thus, thecontent item 30 is difficult to view and, when the object is a dish, theappearance of food on it becomes worse. Thus, the controller 120 mayadjust transmittance of the content item 30 in such a way that thecontent item 30 may be translucent when passing through the objectregion 50 a. Furthermore, an appearance of an object (such as thecontent item 30), or a displaying of the object, may be made based onvirtual physical amounts of items or contents associated with orrepresented by the object.

The description of how to acquire a slide route has been made. Thedescription of how to acquire a slide speed will be made with referenceto FIGS. 23 and 24. The speed of the content item 30 when the contentitem 30 is moved depending on the flick operation is calculated by usingthe virtual coefficient of friction between the moving speed upon theflick operation and the top surface 141 (or based on a coefficient ofrestitution associated with a collision or contact with the content item30). By making the coefficient of friction proportional to the size(capacity) of content to be moved, the user can intuitively recognizethe magnitude of capacity of content.

For example, as shown in FIG. 23, the coefficient of friction when thecontent item of a single music file slides is set to be smaller than thecoefficient of friction when content item 32 of three music filestogether slides. In this way, as the number of moving content items(i.e. the number of files) is smaller, the coefficient of friction (i.e.resistance) is set to be lower. As the number of files is larger, thecoefficient of friction is set to be higher. Accordingly, even when theuser removes the finger from a content item at the same moving speed,the slide speed and the slide distance vary depending on the number ofcontent items. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 23, the content item 30having smaller number of files and lower coefficient of friction ismoved at higher speed and longer distance than the content item 32having larger number of files and higher coefficient of friction. Inthis way, the user can intuitively recognize the magnitude of capacityof the sliding content. The magnitude can also be represented by anumber of rotations the content item 32 is displayed to make, when thecontent item 32 is displayed to rotate while moving. The magnitude canalso be represented by a sound, and the sound can further be generatedto be a higher or a lower volume, based on the magnitude. Furthermore,an appearance of an object (such as the content item 32), or adisplaying of the object, may be made based on the number of contentitems.

Such coefficient of friction is not limited to the number of movingfiles, but it may be varied depending on the capacity of a file. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 24, the coefficient of friction when a contentitem 34 of a moving image file having a time length of five minutes isslid is set to be smaller than the coefficient of friction when acontent item 35 of a moving image file having a time length of 30minutes is slid. In this way, as the size of moving content items (i.e.the size of file) is smaller, the coefficient of friction is set to belower. As the size is larger, the coefficient of friction is set to behigher. Accordingly, even when the user removes the finger from acontent item at the same moving speed, the slide speed and the slidedistance vary depending on the size. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 24,the content item 34 having smaller size and lower coefficient offriction is moved at higher speed and longer distance than the contentitem 35 having larger size and higher coefficient of friction. In thisway, the user can intuitively recognize the magnitude of capacity of thesliding content. Furthermore, an appearance of an object (such as thecontent item 32), or a displaying of the object, may be made based onthe size of the file, and the size of the file may be a time length oran image size. Alternatively, the appearance of the object, or thedisplaying of the object, may be made based on a weight of the object,an importance of the object or of contents associated with the object,or a length of time contents associated with the object have beenplaced.

As described above, according to an embodiment, by changing the virtualcoefficient of friction with the top surface 141 used in the calculationof the slide moving speed depending on the capacity of content (thenumber or size of files), the user can intuitively recognize thecapacity of content. This allows a usage pattern as shown in FIG. 25 tobe implemented.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrated to describe advantageous effectsobtained by the slide speed control depending on the capacity of contentaccording to an embodiment. As shown in the upper part of FIG. 25, auser A slides a content item 32, which is formed by selecting andcollecting some recommended songs (content of music file), toward a userB by performing the flick operation on the content item. At this time,the information processing apparatus 100 sets the moving speed of theflick operation by the user A by calculating the coefficient of frictionthat is increased in proportion to the capacity of the content item 32(e.g., sum of sizes), and controls the movement of the content item 32.This allows the user B to view the flick operation performed by the userA or the content item 32 slid from the user A, and to intuitivelyrecognize the capacity of the content item 32.

When the user B determines that the capacity is insufficient if all ofthe music files included in the content item 32 are transferred to aportable music player 6 depending on the recognized capacity, the user Bdivides the music files included in the content item 32 into contentitems 32 a, 32 b, and 32 c as shown in the middle part of FIG. 25. Then,the user B can transfer only a content item (e.g., content item 32 a)selected from the content items 32 a, 32 b, and 32 c to the portablemusic player 6 as shown in the lower part of FIG. 25. When the contentitem 32 a is close to the portable music player 6 placed on the topsurface 141 by the user's operation, the information processingapparatus 100 establishes a wireless communication with the portablemusic player 6 and controls the content item 32 a to be transferred.

Referring back to FIG. 14, in step S112, the controller 120 updatesdisplay of content, that is, performs the slide movement control, basedon the content control information including the slide route and slidespeed obtained in step S109.

In step S115, the controller 120 determines whether a terminationcondition is satisfied. The description of the termination conditionaccording to an embodiment will be made in detail with reference to“3-4. Termination Condition” described later.

If it is determined that the termination condition is not satisfied (NOin step S115), the controller 120 determines in step S121 whether thesliding content is close to a real object placed on the top surface 141.Specifically, the controller 120 determines whether the content is inproximity to a real object by referring to a captured image, depthinformation or the like inputted from the input unit 110.

If it is determined that the content is in proximity to an object (YESin step S121), the controller 120 acquires “content control information:object proximity operation” in step S124. In the above embodiment, inthe case where a content item is controlled to be not overlapped with anobject using a route obtained by circumventing the object or reflectingfrom the object as shown in FIG. 18 when the content is allowed to beslid, if a route circumventing an object is failed to be found, thecontent is controlled to pass through the object without anymodification as shown in FIG. 22. In addition to this, the controller120 according to an embodiment can also acquire a route that passesthrough the object by moving it on the straight line from a start pointto a termination point, regardless of presence of absence of a routethat circumvents an object. Thus, if a route passing through an objectis acquired in step S112, the controller 120 controls display of thecontent to perform a predetermined object proximity operation dependingon the property of the object when the content is in proximity to theobject (step S124). The first to fourth object proximity operationsaccording to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 26to 29.

<3-3. Object Proximity Operation>

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrated to describe the first object proximityoperation according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 26, for example,the controller 120 controls the content item 30 to pass through a dish 5c depending on the color of the object, with the transmittance of thecontent item 30 maintained. Specifically, for example, when an object inproximity to the content has a handle or has a dark color, the contentitem 30 projected by the projection type information processingapparatus 100 is controlled to be translucent. In this case, the usermay lose sight of the content item 30 when the content item passesthrough (overlaps with) the object. Thus, when an object close to thecontent has a handle or has a dark color, the controller 120 controlsdisplay of the content item 30 to pass through the object, with thetransmittance of the content item 30 maintained.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrated to describe the second object proximityoperation according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 27, for example,the controller 120 controls the content item 30 to pass through a dish 5d depending on the color of an object by setting the content item 30 tobe translucent. Specifically, for example, in the case where an objectin proximity to the content has a white or light color, even when thecontent item 30 projected by the projection type information processingapparatus 100 is controlled to pass through the object in a translucentstate, the user does not lose sight of the content item 30. Thus, whenan object in proximity to the content has a white or light color, thecontroller 120 controls the content item 30 to pass through the objectby changing the state of the content item 30 to a translucent state.This prevents the user from losing sight of the content item 30 when thecontent item 30 passes through the object, and this prevents appearanceof the food on the dish 5 d overlapped with the content item 30 frombeing worse.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrated to describe the third object proximityoperation according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 28, for example,the controller 120 controls the content item 30 to pass through a dish 5e by setting the content item 30 to be a transparent state (i.e.non-display) depending on a material of an object. Specifically, in thecase where an object in proximity is made of a material such as a mirroror is made of a transparent material such as glass, if the content item30 is projected onto the object by the projection type informationprocessing apparatus 100, the projection light reflected by the objectmay enter the eyes of the user, or the projection light is irregularlyreflected and then an image of the content item 30 may be unclear. Thus,when an object in proximity is made of a material that reflects lightlike a mirror or glass, the controller 120 controls the content item 30to pass through the object by changing the state of the content item 30to be a transparent state (i.e. non-display). This makes it possible toprevent the projection light passed through the object from beingreflected.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrated to describe the fourth object proximityoperation according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 29, for example,the controller 120 controls the content item 30 to pass through a dish 5f, with the content item 30 maintained in a transparent state (i.e.non-display) or with the transmittance of the content item 30maintained, depending on the state of the object. Specifically, forexample, the display control on the content item 30 is performed asfollows. When there is food in the dish 5 f as shown in the left part ofFIG. 29, the content item 30 is controlled to pass through the object bychanging its state to a transparent state (i.e. non-display). When nofood is left in the dish 5 f as shown in the right part of FIG. 29, thecontent item 30 is controlled to pass through the object, with thetransmittance of the content item 30 maintained. This makes it possiblefor the projection type information processing apparatus 100 to pass thecontent item 30 through the object in a non-display state, therebypreventing appearance of the food overlapped with an image from beingworse (it looked so unappetizing) even when the user may lose sight ofthe content item 30. The presence or absence of food is estimated basedon a captured image or depth information. If no food is left on the dish5 f after eating, it is not necessary to consider the appearance offood. Thus, the content item 30 is passed without any change, with thetransmittance maintained, thereby preventing the user from losing sightof the content item 30.

The display control at the time of passage of content depending on theproperties (color, material, state, etc.) of an object in proximity hasbeen described in detail. The display control information (contentcontrol information) depending on the properties of an object is stored,for example, in a storage unit (not shown) of the controller 120.

In the example described above, in step S109, although the details ofhow to acquire a route circumventing an object, a route reflected froman object, or a route passing through an object as a slide route havebeen described, an embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, it ispossible to acquire an adequate route among routes that circumvents anobject in proximity and passes the object depending on the properties ofthe object. There will be described an exemplary display control by thecontroller 120 in the case where an adequate route among routes thatcircumvents an object in proximity and passes the object is acquireddepending on the properties of the object.

When an object in proximity has a height larger than the user's point ofview, the content item passing through the object is projected on theupper surface of the object, and thus it is not visible to the user.When the content remains at a position overlapped with the object, theuser will lose sight of the content. Thus, the controller 120 controlsthe content to circumvent the object with a height higher than apredetermined value when the content is close to the object.

When an object in proximity is made of a material that reflects lightlike a mirror or glass, the projection light is irregularly reflectedand then an image may be unclear. Thus, the controller 120 may controlthe content to circumvent the object made of such material when thecontent is in proximity to the object.

When an object in proximity is filled with food, the appearance of foodbecomes worse because the projection light is overlapped with the food.Thus, the controller 120 may control the content to circumvent theobject filled with food when the content is in proximity to the object.

It is possible to recognize in advance the position of an object that isplaced for a long time, but for an object that is placed temporarily, itis difficult to recognize in advance the position of the object at thetime of acquisition of a route (the start of slide). Thus, thecontroller 120 may control the object in which its position isrecognized in advance (object placed for a long time) to be circumventedwhen the object is in proximity and the object that is temporarilyplaced to be passed through.

When the rear projection type or flat arrangement display typeinformation processing apparatus 100 is used, if the slide movement ofcontent is stopped at a position in which an object is placed, the usermay lose sight of the content or the object is necessary to be moved tooperate the content. In particular, when an object in proximity isplaced for a long time, it is expected that the object is heavy and thusis difficult to move or it is expected to be undesirable to change thehome position of the object. Thus, the controller 120 may control theobject that is placed for a long time to be circumvented and the objectthat is temporarily placed to be passed through.

<3-4. Termination Condition>

Subsequently, the “termination condition” mentioned in step S115 will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 30 and 31.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrated to describe a first terminationcondition according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 30, thecontroller 120 may stop the slide movement of the content item 30 bycausing the content item to go into a stall by virtual friction with thetop surface 141.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrated to describe a second terminationcondition according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 31, when the handthat is close to the content item 30 has a particular posture, thecontroller 120 controls the slide movement of the content item 30 to bestopped. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 31, for example, the palmof the hand is directed to face the direction in which the content item30 travels, and a state that stands perpendicular to the top surface 141is recognized as a particular posture.

The termination condition according to the present embodiment has beendescribed. The termination condition according to an embodiment ismerely an example, and in addition to this, for example, the movementmay be controlled to be stopped when the edge of the top surface 141 isreached.

<3-5. Termination Process>

Referring back to FIG. 14, if it is determined that the terminationcondition is satisfied (YES in step S115), then the controller 120controls a predetermined termination process to be performed. Thetermination process according to an embodiment will be described indetail with reference to FIGS. 32 to 37.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrated to describe a first termination processaccording to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 32, when a real object suchas a dish 5 is plated in proximity to a position at which the contentitem 30 goes into a stall, the controller 120 controls the content item30 to approach the real object and controls display of the content item30 to be aligned around the real object. This makes it possible toprevent each content item that is slid around the real object from beingdisplayed irregularly. In the case where the content item 30 isoverlapped with a real object such as a dish 5 when the content item 30is stopped by causing the content item 30 to go into a stall, thecontent item 30 may be moved to a position not to be overlapped with thereal object by shifting the stop position.

In this way, as an example, the controller 120 according to anembodiment performs a termination process depending on a real objectplaced in proximity to the location where the content item 30 goes intoa stall. When a real object has a communication function, if the type ofcontent is equal to the type of data handled by the real object, thecontroller 120 can perform a termination process for transferringcontent to the real object. The description will be made with referenceto FIG. 33.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrated to describe another example of thefirst termination process according to an embodiment. As shown in theleft part of FIG. 33, when a sliding content item 37 is a photographfile and a real object placed near the stop position of the content item37 is a device that handles a photograph file, such as a digital cameraor smartphone, the controller 120 establishes a wireless communicationwith a digital camera 7 and controls the content item 37 to betransferred to the digital camera 7. On the other hand, as shown in theright part of FIG. 33, when a sliding content item 30 is a music fileand a real object placed near the stop position of the content item 30is a digital camera 7 that does not handle a music file, the controller120 does not transfer the content item to the digital camera 7.

The termination process depending on a real object placed in proximityto the location where content goes into a stall has been described. Thecontroller 120 according to an embodiment can also perform thetermination process depending on a GUI of application displayed inproximity to the location where content goes into a stall. Thedescription will be made with reference to FIGS. 34 and 35.

FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrated to describe a second terminationprocess according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 34, when thesliding content item 37 is a photograph file and the GUI displayed inproximity to the stop position of the content item 37 is a photographapplication's GUI 45 that handles a photograph file, the controller 120controls the content item 37 to be displayed on the photographapplication's GUI 45 by incorporating the content item 37 into thephotograph application's GUI 45.

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrated to describe another example of thesecond termination process according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG.35, when a sliding content item 38 is a photograph file and the GUIdisplayed in proximity to the stop position of the content item 38 is amail screen 46, the controller 120 controls the content item 38 to bepasted to the mail screen 46.

In this way, even when there are the same type of content items (e.g.,photograph file in the example shown in FIGS. 34 and 35), differenttermination processes are performed depending on the applicationdisplayed in proximity to the content item (e.g., incorporation ofapplication in the example shown in FIG. 34, and paste of a mail in theexample shown in FIG. 35).

When a content item is stopped at the other user side (it is stoppednear a user), the controller 120 according to an embodiment can alsocontrol to perform a termination process for changing display of contentto be optimized for the user. The description will be made withreference to FIGS. 36 and 37.

FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrated to describe a third termination processaccording to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 36, for example, when thecontent item 37 is slid to the user B, the controller 120 performsdisplay control by rotating the content item 37 in a direction that iseasy to be viewed from the user B. When a plurality of content items areslid to the user B, the controller 120 may align the plurality ofcontent items so that a plurality of content items are not overlappedwith each other at the edge of the top surface 141 on the user B, or thecontroller 120 may align the plurality of content items in such a waythat a plurality of content items are overlapped with each other at theedge of the top surface 141 on the user B. When a plurality of contentitems are displayed to be overlapped at the edge on the user B, thecontroller 120 adjusts the overlapped position using a random number insuch a way that at least a portion of each of the content items may bevisible.

FIG. 37 is a diagram illustrated to describe another example of thethird termination process according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG.37, the controller 120 optimizes display of content depending on theattribute of a person in proximity to the location where content isstopped. Specifically, as shown in the left part of FIG. 37, when a userC in proximity to the location where a content item 39 is stopped is anaged person, the controller 120 may control the font size or image sizeof the content item 39 to be displayed in an enlarged form. As shown inthe right part of FIG. 37, when a user D in proximity to the locationwhere a content item 40 is stopped is a foreigner, the controller 120may control the text of the content item 40 to be displayed in atranslated version, or may control a locale to be changed. The attributeof a person is obtained by the analysis of a captured image or the likeacquired by the input unit 110. To optimize display of the contents of acontent item, information indicating what change is necessary may beassociated with each region of a display surface, and the contentsassociated with a region including a movement destination may be furtherchanged. For example, an English region, a German region, and a regionwhere text is displayed in an enlarged form are set in advance, and achange including English translation, German translation, andenlargement of text may be added to each region including a movementdestination.

«4. Supplement»

The information processing system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure has been described in detail. Next, a supplement tothe information processing system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described.

<4-1. Prevention of Erroneous Operation in Sliding>

In an embodiment, an operation on a content item during sliding may benot accepted. More specifically, the controller 120 allows displaycontrol of only a content item itself (e.g., movement in x-y axis,transmittance, and rotation) to be performed during sliding, and preventan event (e.g., linking in a content item or clicking buttons) within acontent item (GUI) from being accepted. This makes it possible toprevent unintended events from being accepted during sliding, therebypreventing erroneous operations. An example thereof will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 38 and 39.

FIGS. 38 and 39 are diagrams illustrated to describe how to disable theevent for a content item during sliding. This example is based on theassumption that a GUI of a game application (content item 42) isdisplayed on the top surface 141, and a user A plays a game with a userB. As shown in the left part of FIG. 38, when the user A makes the firstmove on the content item 42 displayed on the game board screen, thecontent item 42 is slid in the direction of the opponent user B as shownin the right part of FIG. 38.

While the content item 42 is slid to the user B, in the case in whichthe content item 42 passes through a location where a bystander, user Ctaps on the top surface 141, if the user C taps on the content item 42by mistake as shown in the left part of FIG. 39, the controller 120prevents the operation from being accepted. This makes it possible toprevent an erroneous operation (miss the order) of the content item 42during sliding. As shown in the right part of FIG. 39, when the contentitem 42 reaches the user B and then is stopped, the controller 120accepts an input of the second move by the user B.

<4-2. Transfer to Device on Extension of Sliding Direction>

In an embodiment described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 25, whenthe content item 32 a is moved in proximity to the portable music player6 placed on the top surface 141, the controller 120 controls the contentitem 32 a to be transferred to the portable music player 6. In theexample shown in FIG. 33, when the content item 37 is moved in proximityto the digital camera 7 placed on the top surface 141, the controller120 controls the content item 37 to be transferred to the digital camera7. In this way, the controller 120 according to an embodimentestablishes a wireless communication with a device that is placed on thetop surface 141 and has a communication function, and allows the contentitem moved in proximity to the device to be transferred automatically.

The transfer of a content item according to an embodiment is not limitedto the transfer to a device placed on the top surface 141. For example,a content item may be transferred to a device placed around the table140. An example thereof will be described with reference to FIG. 40.

FIG. 40 is a diagram illustrated to describe a supplement to datatransfer of the information processing system according to anembodiment. In FIG. 40, the projection type information processingapparatus 100 a displays a content item 35 by projecting the contentitem 35 on the top surface 141 a of the table 140 a using an output unit130 a that includes a projector. The user's operation on the contentitem 35 is recognized based on information inputted by an input unit 110a that includes a camera and depth sensor. The controller 120 controlsthe content item 35 to be displayed depending on the particulars of theoperation inputted from the input unit 110 a. Specifically, thecontroller 120 allows the content item 35 to be slid in the movingdirection at the time of the flick operation depending on the flickoperation of the content item 35 by the user.

As shown in FIG. 40, on the side opposite to a user, there is no otherperson who locates at a movement destination of the sliding content item35. In addition, there is no real object on the top surface 141 a.However, there is a television set 8 on the extension line of the slidemoving direction.

When the sliding content item 35 is a moving image file and there is thetelevision set 8 for reproducing the moving image file on the extensionline of the slide moving direction, the controller 120 controls thecontent item 35 reached a predetermined region S12 at the left end ofthe top surface 141 a in FIG. 40 to be transferred to the television set8. The transferred content item 35 is reproduced in the television set8.

In this way, according to an embodiment, a content item can betransferred to a device (e.g., television set and audio device) in alocation remote from the table 140 a depending on the sliding directionof a content item. The positional relationship between the table 140 aand the surrounding devices may be determined, for example, based on animage captured around the table 140 a and obtained by the input unit 110a including a camera or by a communication between the informationprocessing apparatus 100 a and the surrounding devices.

<4-3. Others>

In an embodiment, when a content item is slid depending on the user'sflick operation, the controller 120 may display the trajectory of themoving content item for a predetermined period of time (e.g.,approximately three seconds) after the start of movement. The trajectorymay be displayed in a string shape that is extended from the contentitem. When the user performs an operation of holding the stringindicating the trajectory and of bring it back in front of the user, thecontroller 120 can controls the slid content item to be pulled by thestring and brought back.

Alternatively, even in the case where the trajectory is not displayed,when the hand of the user who performed the flick operation of thecontent item for a predetermined period of time after the start ofmovement has a particular motion or shape to stop the content itemduring the sliding movement of the content item, it is also possible toperform display control to return the slid content item back.

In this way, even when a flick operation is performed by mistake, it ispossible to stop the movement of the content item and to return it backas an exceptional case.

In the case where the user flicks a content item and the display surfaceis slid, when the name of an opponent user who wants to make the contentitem reached is issued, the controller 120 recognizes the opponent userby audio analysis. When the direction in which the recognized opponentuser is located and the direction in which the content item is slid aredifferent from each other, the controller 120 may modify thediscrepancy, and may control the content item to be displayed so thatthe content item is delivered to the opponent user.

«5. Conclusion»

As described above, the information processing system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure is capable of displayinginformation in a more appropriate and efficient by controlling movementof a displayed virtual object depending on a positional relationshipwith a real object.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

For example, a computer program that allows hardware including CPU, ROM,and RAM incorporated in the above-described information processingapparatus 100 to perform functions of the information processingapparatus 100 may also be created. A storage medium on which thecomputer program is stored may be provided.

Although the information processing system according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure used as a projection type, a rear projectiontype, and flat arrangement display type has been described withreference to FIGS. 1 to 3, an embodiment of the present disclosure isnot limited thereto. For example, the information processing apparatus100 may be configured to include a head mounted display (HMD). In thiscase, the information processing apparatus 100 controls information tobe displayed on the top surface 141 in such a way that the informationis visible to the user through a display unit (output unit 130) of theHMD. The information processing apparatus 100 acquires the user'soperation on the information displayed on the top surface 141 (e.g.,drag operation or flick operation that is in contact with the topsurface 141 and moves it with the finger) by the input unit 110 providedin the HMD, such as a camera or depth sensor. The information processingapparatus 100 may be configured to include the output unit 130 thatconstituted by the HMD.

In the above embodiments, there has been described the storage unit(local memory) included in the controller 120. The content controlinformation is stored in the storage unit. An embodiment of the presentdisclosure is not limited to this configuration. The content controlinformation may be stored in a server (external memory) on a network,which is connected by a communication function of the controller 120.

Although in an above embodiment a mode of controlling the movement(e.g., passing through or circumventing) of a virtual object isdetermined depending on the property information (e.g., size, dish,state) of a real object, an embodiment of the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, the mode of controlling the movement of avirtual object may be determined depending on the property informationof a real object and the property information of a virtual object, ormay be determined only depending on the property information of avirtual object.

In addition, the effects described in the present specification aremerely illustrative and demonstrative, and not limitative. In otherwords, the technology according to the present disclosure can exhibitother effects that are evident to those skilled in the art along with orinstead of the effects based on the present specification.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

-   (1)

An information processing apparatus including:

circuitry configured to

initiate display of a virtual object, based on a gesture operation,starting from a point of origin and moving towards a target point; and

continue to display the virtual object in display motion after thegesture operation,

wherein a path of travel of the virtual object or a displaycharacteristic of the virtual object is determined based on a positionalrelationship between the virtual object and another object that is areal object located in proximity to the path of travel of the virtualobject, and when the virtual object passes or enters into apredetermined area of the another object, the path of travel is divertedfrom a direct path or the display characteristic is changed.

-   (2)

The information processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the pathof travel of the virtual object or the display characteristic of thevirtual object is determined when the virtual object passes or entersinto a predetermined area of the another object, and the path of travelis diverted from a direct path or the display characteristic is changed.

-   (3)

The information processing apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein amode of display moving the virtual object is changed based oninformation associated with the real object.

-   (4)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (3),wherein the information includes height information of the real object.

-   (5)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (4),wherein the virtual object is displayed to travel a route of displaymotion that circumvents a predetermined area of the real object, whenthe real object has a height taller than a user point of view.

-   (6)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (5),wherein the information includes material information of the realobject.

-   (7)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (6),wherein the virtual object is displayed to travel a route of displaymotion that circumvents a predetermined area of the real object, whenthe real object is made of a reflective material.

-   (8)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (7),wherein the information includes information indicating a categoricaltype of the real object.

-   (9)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (8),wherein the virtual object is displayed to travel a route of displaymotion that circumvents a predetermined area of the real object, whenthe real object includes food.

-   (10)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (9),wherein a route of display motion that circumvents the predeterminedarea of the another object is determined in advance of setting thevirtual object into display motion, based on a location of the anotherobject.

-   (11)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (10),wherein a circumvention route of display motion that circumvents thepredetermined area of the another object is determined after the virtualobject has been set into display motion and approaching thepredetermined area of the another object.

-   (12)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (11),wherein a display appearance of the virtual object is changed to be moretranslucent when the virtual object is displayed to be passing orentering the predetermined area of the another object.

-   (13)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (12),wherein the virtual object, when displayed to be passing or entering thepredetermined area of the another object, is displayed to have atransmittance determined based on a characteristic of the anotherobject.

-   (14)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (13),wherein the characteristic of the another object is related to a coloror a shape.

-   (15)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (14),wherein a mode of display moving the virtual object is changed based oninformation associated with the another object.

-   (16)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (17),wherein the circuitry is further configured to stop display motion ofthe virtual object when the virtual object visually collides with a handof the user having a particular posture.

-   (17)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (16),wherein the display motion of the virtual object is controlled based ona quantity characteristic or a length characteristic of the virtualobject.

-   (18)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (17),wherein the virtual object is displayed in display motion having amovement speed based on a speed of performing the gesture operation andbased on a virtual coefficient of friction with a display surface.

-   (19)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (18),wherein the display motion of the virtual object is controlled based ona number of or a size of contents associated with the virtual object.

-   (20)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (19),wherein the display motion of the virtual object is controlled based ona perceived weight of the virtual object.

-   (21)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (20),wherein the display motion of the virtual object is controlled based onan importance degree of contents of the virtual object.

-   (22)

The information processing apparatus according to any of (1) to (21),wherein the circuitry is further configured to initiate a playing of asound when the virtual object is displayed to be in display motion,wherein the sound is based on a virtual amount of contents associatedwith the virtual object.

-   (23)

An information processing method including:

displaying a virtual object, based on a gesture operation, starting froma point of origin and moving towards a target point; and

continuing to display the virtual object in display motion after thegesture operation,

wherein a path of travel of the virtual object or a displaycharacteristic of the virtual object is determined based on a positionalrelationship between the virtual object and another object that is areal object located in proximity to the path of travel of the virtualobject.

-   (24)

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon aprogram, which when executed by a computer causes the computer toexecute an information processing method, the method including:

displaying a virtual object, based on a gesture operation, starting froma point of origin and moving towards a target point; and

continuing to display the virtual object in display motion after thegesture operation,

wherein a path of travel of the virtual object or a displaycharacteristic of the virtual object is determined based on a positionalrelationship between the virtual object and another object that is areal object located in proximity to the path of travel of the virtualobject.

-   (25)

An information processing apparatus including:

a controller configured to control display of a virtual object dependingon a user's operation on the displayed virtual object,

wherein the controller controls display of the virtual object dependingon positional relationship between the virtual object and a real objectlocated in proximity to a moving path of the virtual object when thevirtual object is moved.

-   (26)

The information processing apparatus according to (25),

wherein the controller moves an object to be displayed without anotheruser's operation after the previous user's operation.

-   (27)

The information processing apparatus according to (26),

wherein the controller acquires a moving speed and a moving path of thevirtual object based on a moving direction and a moving speed of apredetermined user's operation on the virtual object.

-   (28)

The information processing apparatus according to (27),

wherein the controller controls display of the virtual object in amanner that the virtual object is moved by circumventing the real object

-   (29)

The information processing apparatus according to (27),

wherein the controller controls display of the virtual object in amanner that the virtual object is moved by passing through the realobject.

-   (30)

The information processing apparatus according to (27),

wherein the controller controls display of the virtual object in amanner that a mode of moving the virtual object is changed based oninformation associated with the real object that is in proximity to thevirtual object.

-   (31)

The information processing apparatus according to (27),

wherein the controller controls display of the virtual object in amanner that a mode of moving the virtual object is changed based oninformation associated with the virtual object.

-   (32)

The information processing apparatus according to (30),

wherein the controller controls display of the virtual object in amanner that the virtual object is moved by circumventing the real objector the virtual object is moved by passing through the real object basedon information indicating a property of the real object that is inproximity to the virtual object.

-   (33)

The information processing apparatus according to (32),

wherein the controller controls transmittance of the virtual objectdepending on a property of the real object when the virtual objectpasses through the real object.

-   (34)

The information processing apparatus according to (27),

wherein the moving speed is calculated based on a moving speed inperforming the predetermined user's operation and a virtual coefficientof friction with a display surface.

-   (35)

The information processing apparatus according to (34),

wherein the virtual coefficient of friction is set in proportion to anamount of data of the virtual object.

-   (36)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (25) to(35),

wherein the virtual object is a GUI of application, a media file, orimage data.

-   (37)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (25) to(36),

wherein the controller prevents an operation input to the virtual objectfrom being accepted during control of a movement of the virtual object.

-   (38)

The information processing apparatus according to (37),

wherein the controller performs control in a manner that a movement ofthe virtual object is stopped by colliding with a hand of a user whenthe hand of the user in proximity to the virtual object has a particularposture during control of a movement of the virtual object.

-   (39)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (25) to(38),

wherein, when a movement of the virtual object is stopped, thecontroller performs a termination process on the virtual object,depending on a function of another virtual object displayed in proximityto the stopped virtual object or a property of a real object inproximity to the stopped virtual object.

-   (40)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (25) to(39),

wherein the controller performs control in a manner that an output unitdisplays the virtual object on a display surface.

-   (41)

The information processing apparatus according to (40),

wherein the output unit is a display device, a projector, or an HMD.

-   (42)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (25) to(41),

wherein the user's operation on the virtual object is obtained based oninformation inputted from an input unit.

-   (43)

A control method including:

controlling display of a virtual object depending on a user's operationon the displayed virtual object,

wherein display of the virtual object is controlled depending onpositional relationship between the virtual object and a real objectlocated in proximity to a moving path of the virtual object when thevirtual object is moved.

-   (44)

A program for causing a computer to function as:

a controller that controls display of a virtual object depending on auser's operation on the displayed virtual object,

wherein the controller controls display of the virtual object dependingon positional relationship between the virtual object and a real objectlocated in proximity to a moving path of the virtual object when thevirtual object is moved.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   100, 100 a to 100 c information processing system-   110, 110 a to 110 c input unit-   120 controller-   122 detection unit-   130, 130 a to 130 c output unit

The invention claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatuscomprising: circuitry configured to initiate a display motion of avirtual object displayed by a display device, based on a gestureoperation, starting from a point of origin and moving towards a targetpoint; and continue to display the virtual object in the display motionafter the gesture operation until the virtual object reaches the targetpoint, wherein a path of travel of the virtual object or a displaycharacteristic of the virtual object is determined based on a positionalrelationship between the virtual object and another object that is areal object located in proximity to a direct path of travel of thevirtual object from the point of origin to the target point, wherein thetarget point is determined based on a speed of performing the gestureoperation, wherein a mode of display moving the virtual object ischanged based on information associated with the real object, whereinthe information comprises height information of the real object, andwherein the virtual object is displayed to travel a route of displaymotion that circumvents a predetermined area of the real object, whenthe real object has a height taller than a predetermined value.
 2. Theinformation processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the path of travelof the virtual object or the display characteristic of the virtualobject is determined when the virtual object passes or enters into apredetermined area of the another object, and the path of travel isdiverted from the direct path of travel or the display characteristic ischanged.
 3. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein theinformation further comprises material information of the real object.4. The information processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the virtualobject is displayed to travel a route of display motion that circumventsa predetermined area of the real object, when the real object is made ofa reflective material.
 5. The information processing apparatus of claim1, wherein the information further comprises information indicating acategorical type of the real object.
 6. The information processingapparatus of claim 5, wherein the virtual object is displayed to travela route of display motion that circumvents a predetermined area of thereal object, when the real object includes food.
 7. The informationprocessing apparatus of claim 2, wherein a route of display motion thatcircumvents the predetermined area of the another object is determinedin advance of setting the virtual object into display motion, based on alocation of the another object.
 8. The information processing apparatusof claim 2, wherein a circumvention route of display motion thatcircumvents the predetermined area of the another object is determinedafter the virtual object has been set into display motion andapproaching the predetermined area of the another object.
 9. Theinformation processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein a displayappearance of the virtual object is changed to be more translucent whenthe virtual object is displayed to be passing or entering thepredetermined area of the another object.
 10. The information processingapparatus of claim 2, wherein the virtual object, when displayed to bepassing or entering the predetermined area of the another object, isdisplayed to have a transmittance determined based on a characteristicof the another object.
 11. The information processing apparatus of claim10, wherein the characteristic of the another object is related to acolor or a shape.
 12. The information processing apparatus of claim 1,wherein a mode of display moving the virtual object is changed based oninformation associated with the another object.
 13. The informationprocessing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is furtherconfigured to stop display motion of the virtual object when the virtualobject visually collides with a hand of the user having a particularposture.
 14. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe display motion of the virtual object is controlled based on aquantity characteristic or a length characteristic of the virtualobject.
 15. The information processing apparatus of claim 14, whereinthe virtual object is displayed in display motion having a movementspeed based on the speed of performing the gesture operation and basedon a virtual coefficient of friction with a display surface.
 16. Theinformation processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display motionof the virtual object is controlled based on a number of or a size ofcontents associated with the virtual object.
 17. The informationprocessing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display motion of thevirtual object is controlled based on a perceived weight of the virtualobject.
 18. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein thedisplay motion of the virtual object is controlled based on animportance degree of contents of the virtual object.
 19. The informationprocessing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is furtherconfigured to initiate a playing of a sound when the virtual object isdisplayed to be in display motion, wherein the sound is based on avirtual amount of contents associated with the virtual object.
 20. Aninformation processing method comprising: displaying a display motion ofa virtual object displayed by a display device, based on a gestureoperation, starting from a point of origin and moving towards a targetpoint; and continuing to display the virtual object in the displaymotion after the gesture operation until the virtual object reaches thetarget point, wherein a path of travel of the virtual object or adisplay characteristic of the virtual object is determined based on apositional relationship between the virtual object and another objectthat is a real object located in proximity to a direct path of travel ofthe virtual object from the point of origin to the target point, whereinthe target point is determined based on a speed of performing thegesture operation, wherein a mode of display moving the virtual objectis changed based on information associated with the real object, whereinthe information comprises height information of the real object, andwherein the virtual object is displayed to travel a route of displaymotion that circumvents a predetermined area of the real object, whenthe real object has a height taller than a predetermined value.
 21. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon aprogram, which when executed by a computer causes the computer toexecute an information processing method, the method comprising:displaying a display motion of a virtual object displayed by a displaydevice, based on a gesture operation, starting from a point of originand moving towards a target point; and continuing to display the virtualobject in the display motion after the gesture operation until thevirtual object reaches the target point, wherein a path of travel of thevirtual object or a display characteristic of the virtual object isdetermined based on a positional relationship between the virtual objectand another object that is a real object located in proximity to adirect path of travel of the virtual object from the point of origin tothe target point, wherein the target point is determined based on aspeed of performing the gesture operation, wherein a mode of displaymoving the virtual object is changed based on information associatedwith the real object, wherein the information comprises heightinformation of the real object, and wherein the virtual object isdisplayed to travel a route of display motion that circumvents apredetermined area of the real object, when the real object has a heighttaller than a predetermined value.
 22. The information processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein whether the path of travel of the virtualobject is changed or the display characteristic of the virtual object ischanged is determined according to a categorical type of the realobject.